Fashion Fail: To-die-for looks that can put you in hospital

25 June 2015 - 02:20 By Olivia Lidbury, ©The Daily Telegraph

Your closet might contain hidden dangers more lethal than the boogie man: SKINNY JEANS + SQUATS = NERVE DAMAGEThe unforgiving jeans in almost every woman's wardrobe thanks to international trendsetters Kate Moss and Sienna Miller have been associated with meralgia paresthetica or ''tingling thigh syndrome" - numbness caused by pressure on a nerve running from your pelvis to your thigh.Now the painful outcome of squatting in skinnies has been raised by health experts, who coined it ''compartment syndrome".Squatting in tight jeans can cut off the blood supply to muscles and compress a nerve behind the knee, which brings a debilitating loss of feeling in the legs, feet and toes. A warning was issued after a woman in Australia was found lying on the ground, unable to get up, after collapsing when her feet and ankles became numb.HIGH HEELS + POINTED-TOE SHOES = MORTON'S NEUROMAThe kitten heel must be rejoicing: the NHS in England has warned against wearing heels higher than 5cm because of Morton's neuroma. There's been a surge of the agonising foot condition in middle-aged women due to years of high-heel wear. Morton's - also known as interdigital or intertarsal - neuroma affects the nerve that runs between the toes. Wearing high-heeled shoes can push the toe bones against the nerve, making it more likely for the condition to develop.Sufferers are admitted to hospital and treated with insoles and steroids. Bear that in mind next time those beautiful stilettos wink at you from a shop front.HEAVY HANDBAG + ARM HOOK CROOK = TORN MUSCLES AND TENDON DAMAGECarrying your bag on a bent elbow looks ladylike but it doesn't do your body any favours, particularly if you're hoarding everything but the kitchen sink in there.So while a miniature-sized bag might leave you feeling somewhat unequipped, a stress-free back is worth downsizing for.CROP TOPS + COLD WEATHER = INFERTILITY RISKSTake this with a large pinch of salt - in the mid-noughties an alternative health practitioner warned that teenage girls sporting crop tops in cold weather could struggle to have children.Dr Wei-Xiong Chen told The Scotsman: ''When the stomach area is exposed to cold air it can block the blood and energy flow in that area." He also explained that poor circulation caused by the cold could thin the womb lining, leading to painful periods and infertility.Dr Chen then wrote to Scotland's health minister to ask the Scottish Executive to highlight the plight of the crop top to teenagers. ..

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